Coating-machine.



.GEORGE N. PIFER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

COATING-MACHIN E Sp'ecication. of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 21, 1908.

Application ledAugust 9, 1906. Serial No. 329399. Renewed May 27. 1907.Serial No. 375,959.

iiuid condition during the coating operation.

My invention, while of eneral application, has been designed es ecia yfor coating photographic paper or m with sensitized emulsions,particularly those which contain a llarge percentage of pigment.

Inthe accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of acoating machine constructed in accordance with my invention and Fig. 2is a plan view of the same, omitting certain heating devices shown inFig. 1.

1 represents a frame having bearings in,

which are mounted shafts 2 and 3, provided,

"respectively, with drums 4 and 5, thel` shaft 3 also having a pulley 6,which is driven, by means of a belt 7, from a pulley 8 on another shaft9 mounted in bearings on the frame. A shaft 10 is mounted so as to bevertically adjustable between the shafts 2 and 3, and on this shaft aredisks 11 and 12, preferably flanged, as shown in Fig. 2.

The sheet :c of paper or other material which is to be coated, passesfirst over the drum 4, thence under the iianged disks 11 and 12, andthence over the drum 5, conse# quently that portion of the sheet ofpaper which is in contact at the ends with the disks 11 and 12 forms atrough extending from one disk to the other, and/in this trough isdeposited the material of which the coating is to be formed, thismaterial being of a permanently Huid character, or one which can berendered and maintained fluid. by the application of heat.

through the machine, is maintained in sufiiciently close contact withsaid disks to pervent any leakage from the ends of the trough. As an aidto the maintenance of such close contact I may employ endless belts 13,one for each disk, these belts passing around the drums 4 and 5, beneaththe strip and also passing with the latter beneath the disks 11 and 12,tension being imparted to the belts in any appropriate manner, as forinstance by means of a suspended weight 14 having a pulley 15 engagingthe lower run of each belt.

When the material of which the coating is to be formed is one whichrequires to be heated in order to maintain it in a iluid-condition, suchheat may be applied directly to the material, as by means of a steam orhot water boX 16 dipping into the same, or the heat may be appliedthrough the paper or othermaterial to be coated, as by means of anexternal heating boX 17 supplied with hot water or other fluid intowhich the sheet :l: dips.y In practice either of these methods ofheating the coating material may be employed to the exclusion of theother, and Where it isv not desired to impart a deiinite downwardpressure to the disks the weight of the latter and their shaft 10 may berelied upon to maintain them in contact with the said sheet as it passesbeneath' them, this being especially the case if said shaft 10 isprovided with other disks or drum sections 19, between the disks 11 and12, for the purpose of dividing the trough into sections in order toapply the coating material to the sheet in the form of strips, as shownin Fig. 2.

It will be noted that the sheet of paper,

in connection with the disks -1 1 and 12, forms sheet :c will be coatedwith the best and richest portion of said material which naturally sinksto the bottom of the trough, especially if such material is'an emulsioncontaining a large percentage of pigment. It will be noted also that theascending side of the trough is the delivery side, and, in consequence,the coating is formed by the material carried up by this side of thetrough in its ascent, the thickness of the coating being dependent uponthe degree of fluidity of the coating material and the speed of movementof the strip to be coated, and being independent of any gage bars orScrapers.

My improved coating machine is therefore preferable for many purposes tothat type of machine in which the material to vbe coatedy is passedbeneath a roller dipping into a body of` coating materiah not onlybecause ofthe automatic agitation of the material which.` results. fromthe construction which'l. have adopted, but also because the coatedsheet of -paper or other material leaves the machine with the coatedside uppermost, instead of undermost as usual, a result of thisdifference beingl that the coated sheet vcan be passed at once overheating drums or other available heating, surfaces, which may be incontact with the sheet throughout its entire width.

Where one or more intermediate disksor drum sections 19. are employedthe same may,`

ifl desired, be hollow and heated by means of steam or other liuid, inorder to maintain the coating material in the trough inl a fluidcondition.

While 1 prefer the use of rotating disks as ameans of guiding the sheetso that the latter will formy a trough for the reception ofi the coatingmaterial, fixed guides may, if desired, be employed for the purpose, andfixed guides. may also be used in-place of the rotatingv drums 4 and 5..Owing to the fact that the coating is never in contact with` any foreignbody it presents a smooth and uniform. appearance free from lines orstreaks, as is necessary in a sensitized coating for photographicpurposes.

1. A coating machine having atankvfor holding the fiuid mass of coatingmaterial,

- the sheet to be coated forming an ascending delivery side of saidtank. incontact with said fluidy m aterial.

2. A coating machine having supportsfor the sheet to be coated, andmeansfor directing the sheet between the said supportsto form a tank withmovable bottom andascending delivery side in 'contact with the' fluidmass of coating material.

directing the sheet to be coated that the same forms a trough for thereception of the coating material, and means Jfor ressing said` sheetinto contact with said gui es.

6. A coating machine having guides for so directing the sheet to becoated that the same forms a trough for the receptionV of the coatingmaterial, and endless belts pressing said sheet into contact with saidguides.

7. A coating machine having guides for so directing the sheet, to becoated that the same 'forms a trough for the reception of the coatingmaterial, said guides comprising'end and intermediate members wherebythe trough is divided into sections.

8. A coatingmachine having guides for so directing the sheet to becoated that the same forms a trough with ascending side forthe-reception of. the iluid mass of coating material., and meansfor-applying heat to said material to maintainiit in a' fluid condition.9. A coating/machine having guides for so ydirecting the sheet tobecoatedthat the same forms a-trough` with; ascending side for thereceptionof the fluidmassofcoatmg ma- .terial,y and means formaintainingfsaid material. in a` Huid condition by. heat applied throughthesheet whichis being coated.

10. A coating machine havinga pairof rotating drums, andinterposedgu'ides whereby the sheet to be coatedis sodirected initspassage from one drum.y to the-other. as to'form a trough withascendingside for the reception of thefluidfmass otcoating material.

1 1.. A coating machinehaving a pair ofrotatable disksconstitutingguides whereby thesheet to becoated is so directed as toiorma 1trough with ascending side-for. the reception of the-fluid mass. ofcoating material.

12. of rotatable drums and an interposed air of rotatable disksconsti-tutin guides w ereby the sheet to be coated is soirected as toform a trough with ascending side for the reception oli the rluidmass ofcoating material.

13. A coating-machinehavingapair of rotatable drums, an. interposed pairof rotatable vdisks constituting uides whereby the sheet. to be coatedisso directed as to form a trough for the reception of theycoatingmaterial, and endlessbelts passing around said drums and`,contacting with` thesheet to be coated, Where the same isin contactwith the guiding disks. l

14. A coating machine having a pair of ro.- tatable drums, aninterposedpair of rotatable disks constituting guides whereby the sheetto be coated is so directed asto form a trough for the reception of thecoating material, endless belts passingaround said drums and contactingywith the sheet to be coated where the same is in contact with theguiding disks, and: means for imparting tension to said belts.

. coating machine comprising a pair- 15. A coating machine having arotatable In testimony whereof, I have signed my shaft with end andintermediate disks therename to this specification, in the presence ofon constituting guides whereby the sheet to tWo subscribing Witnesses.

be coated is so directed as to form a trough GEORGE N. PIFER. 5 withascending side for the fluid mass of ooat- Witnesses:

'ing material, the intermediate disk or disks JOHN M. GARFIELD,

dividing said trough into sections. FRANK C. N EWcoMER.

